Fires, especially those caused by flammable liquids, cause extensive amounts of property damage and human harm every year. In particular, a large proportion of fires start on electric or gas range stovetops. Currently, many systems exist for extinguishing fires, including handheld fire extinguishers and sprinkler systems. However, handheld fire extinguishers require manual actuation, while sprinkler systems cover a wide area, and can often destroy property during operation that extends well beyond the area affected by fire, and may not be suited for electrical or grease fires. Further, neither of these systems provide any methodology for helping determine the root cause of the fire after it has been extinguished. As a result, there is a need for a localized, automatic fire extinguishing system suited for stovetops, as well as a fire extinguishing system that includes forensic and auditing functionalities.